Tuesday, May 03, 2005
Doing the Dance
Doing the Dance......
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If you are a freelance speech writer you have to market your services. This is a relatively simple task - although not necessarily an easy one. The simplicity lies in the fact that prospective clients usually want to know one thing. They want to know if they can trust you. Can they trust you not to put words in their mouths that will make them look foolish? Can they trust you with their personal secrets? Can they trust you to figure out internal politics without getting ensnared by them? Can they trust you to be absolutely reliable on matters of corporate confidentiality and privacy?
Well, ok - that's more than one thing. But they all involve trust. Clients are - after all - putting their professional lives in your hands.
That's why potential new clients - or their communications staff - rarely ask to see speech samples. Or ask you about your track record. If you have got in the front door, they have already checked out your credentials from other sources. But once they let you in, the real dance begins.
To trust you, they need to see the whites of your eyes. Literally. They want to meet you in person. Then it's a little bit like going on a blind date. You may get 20 minutes to make your pitch but in fact clients make up their minds within the first two minutes. And if you are at all intuitive, you too will know if you have made a connection very quickly. The rest is all after-play.
The irony is - if they hire - you will probably only get one more dance with them. It might be a long one as you discuss message and motive for the speech. But after that, the chances of you meeting with the speaker again until rehearsal - if at all - may be remote.
And when you competitively bid on speech work - as is usually the case when you go after long term contract work - then you will have to get used to the idea of often never getting to meet some of your clients who may be half a world away. For venues you will never see. For voices you may never hear.
It's a very interesting challenge. A subject for another day.
